Virtual Reality-Based Learning Innovations in Early Childhood Education

Abstact

Early Childhood Education, or PAUD, is instruction provided to kids before the age six to foster their motivation to
learn and stimulate their interest in education. Young children have little interest in learning and solely concentrate on
play activities. Early childhood learners could benefit from fresh experiences thanks to virtual reality-based learning,
which will deepen their understanding of the material. This publication analyses virtual reality-based educational
advances to spark readers' interest in early childhood education. The qualitative research employs the SLR (Systematic
Literature Review) methodology. The information utilized is primary information gleaned from a literature analysis on
virtual reality-based educational innovations designed to spark students' interest in early childhood education.
Compared to not using virtual reality media, early childhood learning interest is higher with virtual reality.
Additionally, virtual reality media improves learning outcomes, memory strength, and student engagement. The
results demonstrate that using virtual reality-based educational resources effectively stimulates interest in early
learning.

Keywords: early childhood education; learning innovation; virtual reality

1. INTRODUCTION

The sophistication of technology can facilitate activities carried out by some people daily in their daily lives.
Technology can also be used in learning activities in early childhood education institutions[1]. Learning in the 21st
century equips the generation to be able to understand information and communication technology and acquire skills
to meet future difficulties brought on by globalization.[2] Specifically, the learning process in Early Childhood
Education (PAUD, Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini), Early Childhood Education is education given to children before the
age of six, intended so that stimulation related to education and interest in learning can develop. Early childhood
education can also be called the golden age, where all forms of material delivery to students will be easy to remember
for them[3]. Students are taught various subjects, ranging from introduction to plants, animals, daily prayers, and so
on. Early age is when they are still happy with activities by playing and interacting with the immediate environment;
for that, an effort is needed to attract interest in learning from students so that they like learning which is done from
an early age[4].

A child's first four years are a golden time, starting at birth. In particular, the brain's intelligence, which is
currently at 80% but won't reach 100% until age 18, is developing quite quickly. This period is also known as a key
period for children because it will determine and have a significant influence on the subsequent period till adulthood.
[5] An early childhood interest in learning is minimal, focusing only on play activities[6]. For a child to learn well,
they take an interest in learning first. Minat is a tendency that can settle in a person to pay attention, remember
certain activities or fields, and feel happy to be involved in the field [7]. In some, it is explained that some early
childhood children have low interest in learning, which is characterized by the learning process of students not being
involved, not paying attention, and feeling bored with the material delivered by the teacher. Based on this, an effort is
needed to foster interest in early childhood[3].

The process of fostering demand for learning from students requires attractive, effective, and efficient media
that can attract learning interest from students[8]. The exposure to media presented in one element will certainly
reduce interest in learning. For example, teachers deliver material only by giving writing to students. Such an incident
will certainly cause a sense of boredom in students, so their interest in learning directly from students will decrease.
By developing increasingly sophisticated technology at this time, the use of learning media can be facilitated using
existing technology[9].

One example of the application of technology-based media is VR or Virtual Reality [10]. The application of
virtual reality-based learning is expected to provide new experiences for early childhood, making the learning process
more meaningful. Virtual Reality is one of the media developed with technology, and there is an interaction between
students and the simulated environment using hardware, such as computers, laptops, and so on [11]. The use of VR-
based media will be able to increase early childhood interest in learning[12]. Media must be designed following the
level of thinking of the target audience or study topic to improve early childhood interest through media development.
[13]

Early childhood has a level of concrete thinking and cannot think about abstract things. The development of
these media should present concrete things in advance that students can encounter in their daily lives. Based on this,
the development of VR media must go through validity tests from material and media experts so that researchers can
use VR media in any educational institution[14].

In previous research by Simamora et al [15] the development of VR products goes through the evaluation
and revision stages which aim to produce good VR media. Various topics can be developed using VR media, and one
example is the material "Types of Work" which is starting to be given at the early childhood level. Several learning
topics can be displayed through the development of VR media, such as job support tools, where they work, types of
work, and so on. The media development must include validity tests and practicality tests so that small group tests can
provide an overview of the effectiveness of using learning media in students. VR media must be as enjoyable as
possible to attract students' interest in learning. As is well known that at an early age, children prefer the presentation
of material using interesting cartoons, so the development of VR media can be done with cartoon exposure.

Based on the explanation above, the author took the title "Virtual Reality-based Learning Innovation to
Increase Early Childhood Learning Interest". This journal aims to analyze virtual reality-based learning innovations to
increase interest in early childhood learning. The limitations used in this study are only based on literature review and
systematic literature review based on relevant titles.

2. RESEARCH METHODS

This article's writing style leans toward the qualitative. Primary data and secondary data are the types of
data used. Studying qualitative data is the main emphasis of this research. Although this research is focused on
qualitative studies, if researchers find quantitative data studies, then the existence is certainly involved. The figure
below shows the flow diagram of this study.

2
 Start

Identification
of Problem

Study of
literature

Analysis and
Discussion

Final Result

Figure 1. Researcher's Mindset

Source: [16]

The approaches involved in this research include history, sovereignty, and sociology. As for developing
research instruments, this is the keyword. Researchers develop related keywords, including observations/observations,
literature reviews, and documentation. The data collection stage related to virtual reality-based learning innovations to
increase interest in early childhood learning. After the data collection stage, the articulation stage referred to some
supporting facts of this study. A piece of new knowledge will be generated by presenting the facts of the research
results that have been carried out through critical and careful data analysis. The data analysis stage is carried out
deductively or inductively, which can explain conclusions. The data analysis carried out can be described in Figure 2
below.

Data Colleccting Data Model

Data Reduction Conclusion Verification

3
 Figure 2. Data Analysis Phase

3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The study results were presented using a systematic literature review based on the following title.

Table 1. Research Results

Researchers and
No. Heading Purpose Analysis Results
Years

1. Arpiansah et al, "VR It attempts to Development related to educational games for

(2021) [17] Educational give a general early childhood is one effective way to provide
Game for overview of VR learning. VR can be implemented on several
Covid-19 Virus utilization in kinds of media, including Motion Sensing
Introduction PAUD (Early Gloves, Headphones, HMD, PC, etc.
and Prevention Childhood Applications utilizing Virtual Reality can
Using MLDC Education) provide an overview of the imaginary area that
Method for settings. exposes the real area in digital form. The area to
Early be simulated is connected to PC (Computer-
Childhood" Simulated Environment) media. Games that will
be developed by utilizing the concept of VR
must be made as attractive as possible and able
to attract students' attention, especially PAUD
so that VR-based educational games developed
can be tested for effectiveness.

2. Pranata et al (2017) “Balinese Fruit It aims to Learning media developed based on virtual
[18] Shooter Game analyze virtual reality can provide stimulation or initial
Was reality-based stimulus to students' learning interests,
Categorized As learning media especially at the ECCE level. Virtual reality is
a Virtual use at the pre- an interaction created by combining
Reality-Based elementary simulations on computers to provide
Which Was school level. interaction between the environment and
Appropriate As students. The exposure of the environment
Instructional presented in virtual reality is the actual state of
Media in the environment, and only it is presented in a

4
 Kindergarten” virtual or imaginary state. The positive impact
of using virtual reality in learning is that
students can know the real world, which can
only be accessed through cyberspace. Virtual
reality can provide images where the ears
(sense of hearing) and eyes (sense of sight) can
feel the sensation of the real world. The
development of media presented using virtual
reality given to students should use interesting
media with contrasting images, colours, and
proportions.

3. Sukaryawan et al "The Effect of It aims to Early childhood education is one of the

(2019) [19] Using Virtual provide an education taken when children enter the age of
Reality Media overview of the four to six years. The interest in learning
on the Learning effectiveness of students can be viewed from acquiring learning
Outcomes of using virtual outcomes. If students' learning results produce
Group B reality-based high scores/grades, the interest possessed by
Children on the media as one of students in learning is also high, and vice versa.
Theme of Wild the learning According to the study's findings, pupils who
Animal media to used VR media had better learning outcomes
Introduction" develop student than those who did not. The typical grade in
interest in classes that don't incorporate VR materials is
learning. 6.74. The average score for VR media kinds is
9.50, which is different from this. Particularly in
early childhood education, using virtual reality
media in the classroom effectively enhances
children' enthusiasm in learning.

4. Firdiarahma (2020) "The Use of It aims to For a respectable amount of time—nearly two
[20] Virtual Reality provide VR years—teaching and learning activities have
Media as a media that is been conducted in their homes, according to
Substitute for presented as one history. This reduces the COVID-19 virus's
Field Trips for of the activities ability to spread. Children really enjoy taking
Low-Grade of students on field trips as an activity. However, the realities
Students in the field trips. This of life prevent students from entering the public
Period of method is spaces. Based on this, teachers can create
Learning from implemented learning that combines with exposure to the
Home" during a imaginary environment, so a tool known as VR
pandemic when (Virtual Reality) media is needed. The
the government implementation of field trips can be done using
restricts all VR media. VR media can facilitate student
activities. learning, especially at the PAUD level, to the
kindergarten level, in tourist visits or field trips
so that even though students study at their
respective homes, they can still feel related to

5
 tourist works.

5. Simamora et al "Development It aims to The development of VR products goes through

(2021) [15] of Learning provide an the evaluation and revision stages that aim to
Media overview produce good VR media. Various topics can be
Introduction to related to developed using VR media, and one example is
Types of various types of the material "Types of Work", which is starting
Virtual Reality- work as one of to be given at the early childhood level. Several
Based Work" the learning learning topics can be displayed through the
materials using development of VR media, such as job support
virtual reality tools, where they work, types of work, and so
developed based on. In order for small group testing to give an
on learning overview of the effectiveness of using learning
media for media among students, the media development
students. must incorporate validity tests and practicality
tests. To pique students' interest in studying,
VR material must be as entertaining as feasible.
Since it is commonly established that children
prefer material presented with engaging
cartoons at a young age, exposure to cartoons
can be used to produce VR media.

6. Dharma (2018) [21] "The Effect of It aims to Different forms of educational media are used
Using Virtual analyze by teachers to support learning activities.
Reality Media students' Examining the use of VR media is the main goal
with a Classical learning of this study. In order to transmit knowledge
Learning Model outcomes at the swiftly and reduce student misconceptions, the
on Student early childhood learning process will be relevant if it is assisted
Learning school level by by the use of learning media. Students will
Outcomes in using VR interact interactively with the representation of
Tk Negeri learning media the made-up world while using VR media as a
Pembina to facilitate learning medium, which has a beneficial effect.
Singaraja" students' The VR media's delivered images have a
learning. dynamic quality. Therefore, students will feel
that they are in the real world. The learning
outcomes of students using conventional media
were lower than those using VR media. The
statement above has been proven, with the PTK
test in the control class getting a total score of
22.03 while the experimental class got a total
score of 25.9.

7. Syafiah (2021) [22] "Virtual Reality It intends to The findings of this study demonstrate that
(VR) Analysis examine VR three-dimensional object representation can be
as a Media for material, which achieved through the use of VR media. One
Animal can be applied example of educational resources used to create
Recognition in to early VR media is livestock. The output of VR media

6
 Early childhood can be used with many Android models.
Childhood" education as a Contrarily, it is well known that a variety of
learning tool. groups already utilize Android, allowing for the
effective usage of VR media as a whole. The
creation of these learning resources seeks to
lessen students' resistance to learning new
topics due to boredom.

History records that teaching and learning activities have been carried out in their residences for a reasonably
long period, almost two years, to minimize the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Tourism activities are one of the
activities that children very like. However, world conditions do not allow students to enter the tourism sector. Based
on this, teachers can create learning that combines with exposure to the imaginary environment, so a tool known as
VR (Virtual Reality) media is needed. The implementation of field trips can be done using VR media. The use of VR
media can facilitate student learning, especially at the PAUD level to the kindergarten level in tourist visits or tourist
works, so that even though students study at their respective homes, students can still feel related to tourist works
[20].

Development related to educational games for early childhood is one effective way to provide learning. VR can
be implemented on several kinds of media, including Motion Sensing Gloves, Headphones, HMD, PC, etc. Applications
that utilize Virtual Reality can provide an overview of the imaginary area that exposes the actual location in digital
form. The place to be simulated is connected to PC (Computer-Simulated Environment) media. Games that will be
developed by utilizing the VR concept must be made as attractive as possible and able to attract the attention of
students, especially PAUD, so that VR-based educational games developed can be tested for effectiveness [17]

Learning media developed based on virtual reality can provide stimulation or initial stimulus to students'
learning interests, especially at the ECCE level. Virtual reality is an interaction created by combining simulations on
computers to provide interaction between the environment and students. The exposure of the environment presented
in virtual reality is the actual state of the environment, and only it is presented in a virtual or imaginary state. The
positive impact of using virtual reality in learning is that students can know the real world, which can only be
accessed through cyberspace. Virtual reality can provide images where the ears (sense of hearing) and eyes (sense of
sight) can feel the sensation of the real world. The development of media presented using virtual reality given to
students should use engaging media with a combination of contrasting images, colours, and proportions [18]

Early childhood education is one of the education taken when children enter the age of four to six years. The
interest in learning students can be viewed from acquiring learning outcomes. If students' learning results produce
high scores/grades, the interest possessed by students in learning is also high, and vice versa. In the results of the
study, it was explained that the learning outcomes of students using VR media were more elevated than those not
using VR media. The average score obtained in classes that do not use VR media is 6.74. This differs from VR media
types, which get an average score of 9.50. The use of virtual reality media used in learning is effective in increasing
students' interest in learning, especially at the early childhood education level [19]

Teachers implement various kinds of learning media to support learning activities. The focus of this research is
to examine the use of VR media. The learning process will be meaningful if it is supported using learning media to
deliver knowledge quickly and minimize student misconceptions. The use of VR media chosen as a learning medium
has a positive impact, where students will engage interactively with the depiction of the imaginary world. The nature
of the images presented in VR media is dynamic. Therefore, students will feel that they are in the real world. The

7
learning outcomes of students using conventional media were lower than those using VR media. This is evidenced by
the PTK test in the control class getting a total score of 22.03 while in the experimental class getting a total score of
25.9 [21]

The development of VR products goes through the evaluation and revision stages that aim to produce good VR
media. Various topics can be developed using VR media, and one example is the material "Types of Work", which is
starting to be given at the early childhood level. Several learning topics can be displayed through the development of
VR media, such as job support tools, where they work, types of work, and so on. The media development must include
validity tests and practicality tests so that small group tests can provide an overview of the effectiveness of using
learning media in students. VR media must be as enjoyable as possible to attract students' interest in learning. As is
well known that at an early age, children prefer the presentation of material using interesting cartoons, so the
development of VR media can be done with cartoon exposure [15]

Through the results of research by Syafiah (2021), it can be seen that the use of VR media can provide results in
depicting three-dimensional objects. Livestock is an example of using learning materials used as material in preparing
VR media. The output produced by VR media can be applied to various kinds of Android. In contrast, it is known that
the use of Android is currently used by multiple groups so that the target of VR media can effectively be used together.
The development of these learning media aims to minimize the level of boredom of students to learn new things.

4. CONCLUSION

The results obtained by early childhood learning interest are higher using virtual reality compared to not
using virtual reality media. In addition, the use of virtual reality media has an impact on improving learning outcomes,
memory is getting stronger, and student activeness is increasing. The conclusion obtained is that the use of virtual
reality-based learning media is effective in increasing interest in early childhood learning. And it has been
demonstrated, according to literature analysis, that employing virtual reality yields more excellent student test scores
than using traditional learning methods. But it should be noted in its use, and it should be monitored by teachers and
parents, especially the use of VR that is entirely online.

Suggestions are addressed to further researchers to continue this research by conducting effectiveness tests
so that the study results are more effective and can be accounted for. Then it is recommended to educators or
prospective educators to use VR (Virtual Reality) learning media because it is proven to increase interest in learning,
especially in early childhood. Furthermore, it is recommended that parents provide education to children from an early
age regarding the importance of learning, so it is hoped that children will begin to understand the importance of
learning from an early age.

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